The Founder's Return
by xVelvet
Summary: Hermione and her friends return to Hogwarts after the war to finish their 7th year. But there is an ancient power threatening Hogwarts and everyone in it. But Hermione gets unexpected help and learns something about herself in the process. Will they be able to save Hogwarts together? M for future ch.
1. Return to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**~Hermione's Perspective~**

"What do you think you're doing?"

Hermione Granger was in the Hogwarts library doing some research for her transfiguration paper due the next day. She was just going through an oversized, dusty volume of_ Transfiguration for the nifty wizard, a guide from A – Z_, when suddenly Draco Malfoy sat down in the empty chair next to her.

"Well Granger, this is what us civilized people call_ sitting down_." Malfoy stated with an annoying smirk on his face.

In the months that followed the final battle Harry, Ron and Hermione had helped to rebuild Hogwarts and had returned to finish their 7th year, which they had missed due to the search for the horcruxes they had to destroy in order to defeat Lord Voldemort. It helped them to deal with all their loss and pain, after the funerals of their loved ones.

It was decided that there would be one big funeral where all those who died in the war were honored with a beautiful ceremony. They were all buried at the Hogwarts grounds, so the next generations would not forget their selfless sacrifice for freedom. After all the death and pain they had seen in the last year, Hogwarts seemed to be the only place where the kids could just be teenagers again and so they went to finish their education and attempt to restart their lives. To their big surprise Draco Malfoy had also returned to Hogwarts.

When the golden trio returned to Hogwarts and realized Malfoy had returned, as well, they - at first - were really angry. The sorting ceremony was just finished when Malfoy walked in.

"How dare he show his face here!" Ron had shouted when Malfoy entered the great hall and swaggered over to the Slytherin table.

"He tried to kill all of us! Why did they even let him return?" He was fuming with anger and his face turned a bright red to match his hair.

"Don't you think so Harry?" He asked trying to find some backup.

"I don't know Ron." Harry replied, looking thoughtful for a moment "I don't like him walking around here one bit either, but I guess that they have a reason allowing him to come back." He stated.

"Well it better be a damned good one!"

"Ron, I think Harry is right." Hermione intervened before Harry could respond. "I say we just leave it be as long as Malfoy leaves us alone. I say we just avoid him as much as possible." She stated.

"Hmpf."

"Oh come on Ron! You know Hermione is right, please just do us all a favor and listen to your girlfriend." Harry stated, obviously irritated by Ron's stubbornness.

"Ok, I guess, but only because it's you 'Mione." He said, smiling at Hermione.

"Thanks Ron" She replied and kissed him on his cheek.

After their little discussion at the Gryffindor table Hermione and her friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, where Hermione took a seat near the fireplace. It wasn't lit, it was way to warm for that, but the chairs were just a lot more comfortable then the chairs at the tables.

Hermione was curious as to why Malfoy was allowed to return. So she sat there at the fireplace trying to come up with a reason why he was allowed back. After a while she decided that it was probably because his picking Voldemorts side wasn't a choice, it was more like an order. Voldemort had threatened him and his family, which left him with no choice. That didn't make her dislike him any less though. Forced to do it or not, he did horrible things and she hated him for it.

After having that sorted out for herself she decided that it was time for her to go to bed. Tomorrow the classes would start early and it was already getting late, close to midnight. She said goodnight to Ginny and Harry, who were also still sitting in the common room, snogging in a corner, and went upstairs to her dormitory. She dressed down and just stepped into bed, too tired to visit the bathroom first. As soon as her head touched the pillow she was asleep.

~~o~~

The following days were nothing special. The lessons started and it proofed easier than they expected to fall back into the rhythm of schooldays. They also succeeded in avoiding Malfoy as much as possible as he also seemed to stay away from them. The only exception being their potions and transfiguration classes, but even there he left them alone. This was a relief, as Malfoy was usually there to make their lives miserable every chance he had. Maybe he had changed. Maybe he realized how wrong he had been and wanted to change. Maybe he would just leave them alone. With all the peace and quiet around him and all the schoolwork she had to catch up with, she soon forgot all about him.

That was until now.

"Don't act stupid_Malfoy,_you know perfectly well what I meant_._" - She hated it when people called her by her last name, though it was probably better than being called a mudblood, which was usually his word of choice –

"Why are you sitting down next to _me?"_she asked sharply, looking at him suspiciously, trying to read from his face what he was up to. Surely he was up to something, she knew it, why else would he sit down next to her?

"Don't think I'm sitting here for _you_, Granger. This is simply the last available chair." He stated seemingly annoyed by her lack of attention to her surroundings. He seemed to mean what he said. Or at least she couldn't detect a lie. When he met her staring eyes she quickly looked away. His eyes were like steel, impenetrable.

Hermione quickly scanned the room only to notice that he was right, it really was the only chair that was available. He hadn't been lying. _Ouch_, she thought and immediately felt her face turned bright crimson. There was no hidden motive behind his sitting down next to her. He wasn't scheming or manipulating her like he always used to do. It was just a stupid coincidence. How could she be so stupid?

"Now, If you would please excuse me, I have better things to do then talk to you." He continued icily, without even looking at her, obviously annoyed by her staring at him.

Suddenly Hermione was furious. _How dare he, that stupid little slime ball! How dare he be so rude to __me__! _Hermione thought to herself. He hadn't changed one bit.

"Well suit yourself then, Jerk!" And with that Hermione stormed out of the library, leaving Malfoy staring at her back and then walking away, without having read his book.

When Hermione stormed out of the library she noticed that everybody had been staring at them, it was so embarrassing! She couldn't blame them though; it wasn't exactly classified information that they couldn't stand each other. As she passed the tapestry of the handless maiden she stopped. She had left her book in the library! How stupid of her! But she couldn't go back now, she thought to herself, not with Malfoy still there. On the other hand she really did need that book for her transfiguration paper! She could not afford to hand it in late, not with their new teacher.

Since McGonnagall had taken the position of headmistress after Snape had died, a new transfiguration teacher was needed and luckily they found someone. To everybody's surprise their new teacher was still very young - in her late twenties, but was almost as good a professor McGonnagall had been.

But even more than being very young and very talented she was the most beautiful woman you could imagine. She was tall and slim, but in a very feminine way, with curves in all the right places. Her waist-length raven black her was sleek and shiny and curved her oval shaped face perfectly. She had a very fair, almost translucent skin and her high cheekbones almost seemed to probe through it. She held herself in a very controlled though almost sensual way and when she walked she almost seemed to float. The most intriguing thing about her though, were her eyes. They were a dark rimmed bright green and were in perfect contrast with her dark hair. When you looked into her eyes it felt as if they just pierced into your brain, seeing all your darkest secrets, which made Hermione, and probably pretty much everyone else, feel highly uncomfortable.

Of course, when she was not looking at them, all the boys couldn't take her eyes of her. To them she was sex on legs. No, more like their best possible fantasy come true. All they could talk about nowadays was Professor Nedra . Even Ron found it difficult to take his eyes off of her when she walked by the in the great hall on her way to the teacher's table. Hermione couldn't blame Ron, but it did bug her. Wasn't he supposed to only have eyes for her, his girlfriend? Not that they had been doing great lately, but still. It pissed Hermione off and made her dislike the new teacher.

_I guess I'll just go have lunch now and return afterwards to get my book. Surely he will be gone by then. _She thought to herself and turned left to go to the great hall.

_**Author's note:**_

_Hey Everyone, this is my very first fanfic ever! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I know it's a bit short, I'm sorry about that. It's actually only half of the original first chapter, but I decided to split it in two, you'll see why ;)_

_I am not a native speaker of English, which means that there will probably will be some typos and grammar errors, but i'll change those if you point them out to me._

_**EDIT: Also, a big thanks to my new wonderful Beta: **_**WritingFreaksAllTheWay**

_Please tell me what you think and what should be improved, I want to know :D_


	2. An Unexpected Guest

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**~Draco's Perspective~**

Draco Malfoy was in his bedroom reading a book, when his mother knocked on his door.

"Draco, it's your mother, can I please come in?" She asked from behind the door.

"Come in."

Draco quickly hid his book between his schoolbooks, so she wouldn't notice it. Even though his mother would never ask him about it, he knew his mother wouldn't be very fond of his choice of literature. He didn't like lying to his mother, but it was becoming a habit lately. She just wouldn't understand it, so he decided to hide the book, to avoid any possible arguments.

When she walked in he immediately noticed that she was here on business. He could recognize the familiar determined look in her eyes and her stiff mouth. This wasn't social call. She walked over to his bed and after sitting down, motioned for him to join her. He walked over slowly to the bed and sat down deliberately. When he was settled his mother started talking, but Draco interrupted her.

"Mother, please, I know that you have something on your mind, please just cut to the chase." He stated. He knew his mother, and he knew that she would try to soften the message by small talking. He didn't feel like small talk right now, he just wanted to get this over with.

"Sometimes you remind me so much of your father Draco, he really loved you." Her face softened and her eyes filled with loss of her husband's departure, but also pride, for Draco.

"Mother, please." He was touched by what she said, but really needed to get this over with.

"Yes, yes, you are right." Her face regained the deliberate cold edge he had gotten used to lately.

"Draco, I came here to tell you that you will be going back to Hogwarts next year, to fi-…" But before she should finish her sentence, he cut her off."

"WHAT!" He yelled. "You are going to send me back to that hellhole!" He shouted at her. "How do you think that will go? They are going to kill me for what I did to them!" He was getting really worked up now. But he before he could continue his mother held up her hand as a sign for him to stop yelling at her.

"I do not accept this, Draco, it is not behavior suited for a Malfoy." He was fuming, but she was right, this was not suitable behavior. She gave him time to regain his calm and continued. "As I was saying, you will go back to Hogwarts next year, to finish your education. You will do your utmost best and you will graduate. We need to get the Malfoy name re-established among wizarding society and I need you to play an active role in that. Nobody will respect the Malfoy name unless we show them that we be more than just death eaters. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother, I do." It was the longest speech he had heard from her in ages and he had to admit she had point. They needed to re-establish the Malfoy name and at the moment he was the only one that could do that. If going back to Hogwarts and graduate was what it would take for him to do that, he would.

She stood up, smiling. "Thank you Draco, I knew you would understand." He did. He just didn't like it.

After his mother had left he picked up his book again, immediately entirely consumed by its content. He couldn't believe he had missed out on this for all these years. He had a lot of catching up to do.

When he looked up from his book again he realized he had been reading for hours. The sunlight had faded and was replaced by a star covered sky. When he glanced at the clock he saw that he only had five minutes to get ready for dinner. "Great." He murmured to himself. Instead of also showering he decided to only put on some fresh clothes. When he was dressed he glanced at himself in the mirror.

"Good." He said to himself, pleased by his appearance. He was wearing a pitch black suit, but not with his usual black shirt. This time he chose to wear his new red shirt, which made his icy eyes pop out even more. Even though he hadn't really been thinking when he got dressed, the outcome was actually rather good. He was very pleased with himself.

When he got downstairs and entered the dining room they usually used he noticed it was empty. "That's strange," He thought to himself. "I do not recall mother saying she was going to dine out."

Just when he started to leave again one of the house elves appeared in front of him. Her name was Dara and she was one of Draco's favorite house elves. He didn't consider her his servant. When his parents had punished him or hadn't been there, Dara was and she took care of him. When he needed advice he would always go to her first. He trusted her fully and if it wasn't for her he would have probably ended up a lot worse.

"Mister Malfoy, Your mother requested dinner to be served in the big dining hall, on the first floor." Dara stated, looking up at him. He smiled at her, he was glad to see her. "Thank you Dara," he said kindly.

_"Although I can't imagine why she would want to use that enormous room for just the two of us."_ He thought to himself. It was almost as if she could read his mind, because when she started talking again she answered his unspoken question. "She requested the big hall because there are guests over." He wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time Dara had answered one of his silent questions. He figured that for her he was just very easy to read.

He was surprised that they had guests though. His mother hadn't mentioned anyone coming over for dinner when she talked to him this afternoon. Maybe she didn't want him to know about it, or maybe she hadn't known either. Either way, he would probably find out in a minute.

When he apparated outside the dining hall door, he could hear two women speaking to one another. One of them was his mother, of that he was sure, but the other voice he couldn't place. When he walked in he saw that he indeed didn't know the woman the voice belonged to. She was sitting on the opposite side of his mother and neither of them had noticed him walking in. This gave him time to take a good look at her. For what he could see she had sleek black hair and a fair skin. She seemed to be wearing old robes, but when he looked closer he could see that they must once have been very beautiful and expensive. Strange.

When he walked a little closer, to have a better look at this 'guest', his mother noticed him. "Draco, you are late, please sit down." When he was walking over to the table he could have a much closer look at their guest. Of course when his mother had spoken the woman noticed him and immediately looked at him curiously. Her bright green eyes piercing into Draco's silvery gray ones.

If he hadn't been so used to people trying to intimidate him, he might actually have felt uncomfortable by her stare. But of course he wasn't. He was a Malfoy after all. It did make him curious who she was though. He calmly kept walking over to the table and for a brief moment the woman seemed surprised by her lack of influence. It was gone in a second, but Draco had noticed it.

He also noticed something else. There was something about her that was oddly familiar, as if she reminded him of someone. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though and it frustrated him.

When he reached the table and sat down at the head his mother finally introduced the fascinating stranger. "Draco, son, I'd like you to meet an old friend of your aunt Bella, _Isobelle Lilith Nedra_."

_**Author's note:**_

_So you guys, what did you think? Was it any good? Are you curious about what's going to happen next?_

_I know I would be dying to know what Draco was reading and why a friend of Bellatrix Lestrange would be teaching at Hogwarts…._

_**EDIT: Also, a big thanks to my new wonderful Beta: **_**WritingFreaksAllTheWay**

_Please review and tell me what you think!_


	3. The Dinner

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but a girl can dream.**

**~Draco's Perspective~**

It had been a long night and when Draco was finally excused from the dining table to go back to his room he felt exhausted. While he was walking the stairs to the second floor where his room was his mind was running top speed. He crossed the portrait hall, where he was greeted by the faces of his ancestors. He didn't feel like paying any attention to them though and he quickly went in his room and closed the door.

When he entered his room he was welcomed by the familiar colors. The walls covered in a dark clouded silver fabric, a perfect match with the ebony furniture. He had always been fond of his room even though it was a little dark for his liking. The room had belonged to his grandfather when he was young and Draco had been given the room when he turned 11. The year he first went to Hogwarts.

He sat down on the bed, almost too tired to sit upright. He put some pillows behind his back and got comfortable. After what he'd heard tonight he had a lot to reflect upon.

When his mother introduced their guest to him, he saw in her face that it indeed had been a surprise visit, but also that his mother didn't like their visitor. When he learned that she was an old friend of his crazy -and luckily deceased- aunt he realized why his mother disliked her.

His mother had loved her sister because she was family, and because of that she tolerated her craziness. She had mourned her sister's death, but was relieved that her evil presence was gone. This woman had the same dangerous look in her eyes and he now realized why she had looked so familiar. She reminded him of his aunt. But this woman didn't have the excuse of being family, which made her an unwanted intruder.

After the war had ended he and his mother had decided that they didn't want anything to do with the death-eaters and that they wouldn't be welcomed in their house anymore. It had mainly been his father that always felt connected with their dark little 'community' and now that he was no longer calling the shots they made the decision to cut themselves loose.

After his mother's short introduction Isobelle addressed him. "Hello Draco, it is nice to finally meet you. Your aunt has told me so much about you. I can see that you don't like my being here and I think you will be happy to hear that I will only be staying here for one night. I have –" she paused for a second "– 'business' in the area and your aunt told me that I could spend the night here. I only learned that she died when I arrived an hour ago." While she said this, her piercing eyes never left Draco's. As if they were somehow trying to influence his mind. It made the hairs in the back of his neck stand up, but his stare back didn't falter a second.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He replied coldly, staring back at her with the same intensity.

"Well," His mother interrupted, picking up on the hostile vibe in the room. "You are welcome to stay longer if necessary, as long as you do not bring your 'business' here." Apparently he wasn't the only one that picked up on her similarities to his aunt. But his mother had always been one for manners so of course she offered this woman to stay longer.

_'Splendid'_ He thought to himself.

The dinner seemed to stretch for hours, and after the uncomfortable conversation there wasn't much said besides some polite small talk. Everyone ate their meal quietly. The only things he learned about Isobelle – he already sneered her name in his mind- was that she wasn't that much older than him, only 23 years old, and that she hadn't gone to Hogwarts. He actually sensed that she didn't like Hogwarts that much, for she had a slight look of disgust on her face every time the school was mentioned.

She had grown up in Estonia, she told them in a short moment of small talk, and she had met Bellatrix there when she was eighteen. She didn't tell too much about their relationship, but she did let slip that her parents died and that Bellatrix had found her alone in the house and had helped her find somewhere to live.

It didn't really seem like his aunt to help a little girl though. Normally she would just have some fun when an opportunity like that presented itself to her, simply to entertain herself. But who said that she didn't? Maybe she'd indeed had her fun with the little girl. He sincerely hoped that he was wrong, because who knew what had happened to the girl then.

That was all he knew about her and it frustrated him. She frustrated him and he didn't like her presence one bit. She was a friend of Bellatrix' so she probably wasn't up for anything good. Knowing his aunt it was even something very very bad. All things considered he could only be relieved that she would stay in their house for just one night.

When he removed the pillow from behind his back and laid down in his bed he grabbed his book again, but after having read one page he decided that he was simply too tired and he put it away again. While he was lying in bed he was confronted with all the horrible memories of his aunt of last year. The torturing, the killing, he wished that he could just forget. But he couldn't. So he took the bottle of fire whiskey out of his bedside cabinet and poured some in the glass he always kept on top of the cabinet. He used it a lot more often lately, but e couldn't worry about it. Maybe it was bad for him. Maybe it wouldn't make him forget. But he'd at least get some sleep tonight.

~0~

When he had woken up the next morning their guest luckily had left. He was relieved that he wouldn't be confronted by the eyes that had haunted him all night in his sleep, but he was also very curious what kind of business she was here for. Knowing his aunt it couldn't be anything good. Especially considering the distance the visitor had travelled to do so.

Weeks passed quickly and he didn't hear anything about the strange woman or her business, but he didn't forget about it. He'd figured that he would soon learn about it anyway and he had been right. When the day came that he would leave for Hogwarts he saw her again, on platform 9 ¾ to be precise. He didn't notice her at first, but just when he was about to board the train he was struck by her bright green stare. She was standing 50 feet away from him, about to board the train as well.

He froze to a halt, one foot on the flaming red train and one still on platform 9 ¾. When she noticed his shock she smiled, though not a kind smile, it was an amused, cold sneer that matched her eyes scarily well. The next moment she was gone. Though she had boarded the train and left his vision, Draco still stood nailed to the ground in shock. "Why was this woman boarding the train to Hogwarts? And why did she smile at him like that?"

"Hey dude! Can you please hurry up? The train is going to leave any second!" Draco was abruptly shaken out of his thoughts, by the comment of the boy standing behind him and quickly collected himself.

"Can't you read signs?" He asked the 4thyear boy coldly. "Because it clearly says that this is the head boy and girl carriage." He gave the now red faced kid an arrogant look and boarded the train.

The moment he sat down he heard the whistle as a sign that the train was leaving. He got comfortable and spent the entire trip staring out the window, quietly thinking to himself and refusing to acknowledge the presence of the Ravenclaw head girl.

He hadn't been asked to be head boy this year, but he had been last year and he refused to give up the title and advantages as he had stated in a letter to McGonagall. To his surprise she had granted him the privilege and didn't assign anyone else.

Though he didn't know yet, she had a very good reason to do so. And he would all too soon find out what said reason was.

**Author's note:**

**I'm not quite sure about this chapter so please please please let me know what you think.**

**A big thanks to my wonderful Beta:WritingFreaksAllTheWay**

**Please review, those little thingies only take you 10 seconds but mean the world to me! :D**


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